


What Comes Naturally

by castiels_feather



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Friendship, M/M, Meant To Be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 20:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2746634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castiels_feather/pseuds/castiels_feather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claude moved in with Danny and Danny is showing him the ropes - be it about hockey or raising kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Comes Naturally

**Author's Note:**

> I stole the title from a short story belonging to the ‘Shadow of the Templar’ book series by M. Chandler.
> 
> This is my first one. So please, be kind :))  
> There are things I did research for and are based on reality (game scores, schedule, goals should fit) and then there’s the other half (the bigger one) that I completely made up. I tried to write the people as I could imagine they would behave. But it’s obviously still very very far fetched. The story is set to begin some time towards the end of November of 2010 because that’s how the games fit into my story (home/away wins/losses). Which I’m now kinda glad for because I didn’t have to deal with Danny’s suspension. Which would be complicated, to say the least.
> 
> Huge thanks to [Cole](http://femmederobespierre.tumblr.com) for proofreading and getting rid of all the awkwardness :))

“Good practice today, guys. Optional afternoon skate tomorrow. Keep up the good work.” Lavi always tried to close his short speeches on an encouraging note. The guys unanimously hummed something along the lines of ‘thanks, coach’ but most of it was lost in the sound of ripping velcro as all of them were taking off their pads. And indeed, the mood in the locker room was good today. So good, actually, that a certain someone decided it called for a celebration...

“Are the Brioux’s coming?” Carter nudged Richards with his elbow as if to gesture he’s talking to him but he deliberately spoke loud enough for everybody to hear. Then he smugly awaited Richards’ equally classy response.

“How the hell should I know? Don’t they have family dinners on Friday or some shit?”

Claude just rolled his eyes and Danny smiled to himself but kept untying his skates. “Hey, is it okay if I skip this one? Tell the boys I’ll take ‘em to dinner next week.”

“Sure, have fun,” Danny answered with a smile.

+

Danny was pouring his coffee when he heard the sound of Claude's bare feet on the tiles as he stumbled into the kitchen.

"You look like crap," Danny informed him.

"I feel like it." Claude still cringed at the daylight a little. "Nothing a coffee couldn't fix, I guess."

"Good thing I made some, then, huh?"

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver," Claude said gratefully as Danny was handing him a steaming coffee mug.

"You think you'll be up for the afternoon skate?"

Claude blinked a few times, "Right, the skate. Yeah. Big breakfast and I'm as good as new."

“So… How was last night?” Danny asked with a sheepish smile.

“Eh, pretty good. Even scored a few numbers,” Claude said as if he was surprised at the fact.

“Good on you. Just be careful, you don’t want to end up like Richie.”

“What do you mean like Richie?” Claude frowned.

“Well, let’s just say that the lady was borderline crazy and Richie was THIS close to filing for a restraining order,” Danny gestured with an inch of space between his thumb and his index finger. Claude crinkled his nose and hissed sympathetically.

“Yeah…” Danny nodded.

+

The afternoon skate was exceptionally peaceful with neither Carter nor Richards present and Danny decided he quite liked that. It was nice to take a break from those two. As everybody was collecting themselves to go to the locker room, Claude nudged Danny with his glove,  
“Race you to the net? Loser pays for coffee,” he said with a wink. Danny only had to answer with a smirk and they rushed off, grinning with determination to beat the other one at any cost.

“Children,” Hartsy shook his head.

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Claude yelled victoriously.

“You cheated!” Danny said with an embellished pout.

“Naah, that’s just your old age catching up. Admit it,” Claude teased only to regret it a few seconds later after getting body-checked into the boards.

+

“Heey! How you been, Danny boy?” Hartsy enthusiastically wedged himself between Danny and Claude sitting on the locker room bench.

“Can’t complain,” Danny answered truthfully. “Why do you ask?”

Hartsy shrugged, “You seem a bit down sometimes. You know, when you think nobody’s looking...” He lowered his voice, leaned closer to Danny and nudged him with an elbow, “Why don’t you go out and have some fun?” When he saw Danny’s doubtful face, he went on, “See, my lady friend has this really really nice colleague who I’m sure would love to meet a guy like you.”

Danny was planning to start dating again at some point but every time it came to the real thing he just removed himself from any situation of that sort. As much as he hated to admit it, Hartsy was right. 

“I’ll think about it,” Danny offered.

“You do that. And when - not if - you change your mind, you got my number. Now all you need is hers!” Hartsy clapped a reassuring hand on Danny’s shoulder and winked at him, happy that his mission was at least partially accomplished.

+

They pulled into the parking lot and were headed for the closest Starbucks when they heard a female voice.

“Claude?” They turned around and there stood a pretty blonde with a cheerful smile. Maybe a little too cheerful.

“Nicole, right?” Claude really really hoped it’s Nicole. When she nodded, he collected himself and pointed his hand at Danny and then back at the girl, “Nicole, Danny. Danny, Nicole. We met last night,” Claude cleared up even though he didn’t really need to. Danny figured she must be one of the ‘scored numbers’ from yesterday.

“Nice to meet you,” Danny offered a polite smile without hesitation and shook her tiny hand. And since he was nothing if not perceptive, he swiftly excused himself to go get the coffee they came for, thus leaving Claude to chat with Nicole in private. He watched them while standing in the line and he couldn’t help but notice her body language. Touching her hair all the time, giggling excessively... _‘Oh, come ON. He’s not THAT funny…’_

“...take your order, Mr. Briére?” the young lady behind the counter interrupted his train of thought.

“Of course, sorry,” Danny shook his head apologetically. 

+

When he returned to the parking lot, Claude was waiting there already, leaning on the hood, hands stuck in his pockets. Danny handed him the cup with ‘CLaudE’ written on it. 

“Ooh, you remembered!” he said happily when he sipped from the cup.

“Claude, I have three kids and each of them likes a different brand of cereal. Or of any other thing for that matter. Did you really think I’d forget how you order your coffee?”

“Thanks,” Claude said anyway, clutching the warm cup in his hands. Danny didn’t really feel like asking about Nicole so the rest of the ride home passed in companionable silence.

+

Danny was staring at the phone for a while and then… _‘Screw it,’_ he hit the dial button.

“Yello!”

“Hartsy? It’s me, Danny. I uh-...” Danny pinched the bridge of his crinkled nose. “Would you text me the number?” Yup. There it was. He did it. Enough of hiding and avoiding. 

“That’s my boy,” Hartsy sounded SO smug. “I’m proud of you! I - am - texting you - the number - as - we - speak. Did you get it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Thanks again.”

“Go get her, tiger!” 

Danny tapped his phone to end the call and stared at it for a while, trying to process what just happened. And you know what? He even caught himself genuinely looking forward to getting back out there. Lots of fish in the sea – it was time to go fishing.

+

That day was a good day. They embarrassed the Hurricanes 8-1 on their own ice and Danny helped with two goals and an assist. Claude had two assists himself but the bragging rights went to his buddy this time. After catching the morning flight back to Philly they got back home around lunchtime. 

“Claude?”

“Yeah?”

“I need you to- um, would you do me a favor?” Danny asked uncertainly, biting his lower lip.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Would you pick up the kids after school today? I need to be somewhere at five and I want to clean up a bit,” he said.

“A celebratory date, eh?” Claude winked. “Scoring on AND off the ice. Nice. For a man of your age…” he was grinning already but Danny shot him a tired look that made him raise his hands in surrender and say “I’m kidding! Just kidding. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.”

"They like it better when you pick them up anyway," Danny said, sounding resigned. "Oh, and it would be great if you guys had something other than pizza tonight."

"How about I make grilled cheese?" Claude went for the safe bet.

"Only if you save some for me."

"You got it," Claude said, feeling very proud of his culinary skills, however limited they might be. 

+

Danny was overwhelmed with feelings, mainly nervousness. But excitement, albeit a cautious excitement, and optimism helped him overcome that. He rang the doorbell at the address he received in a text. He heard steps and then the door opened.

“You must be Danny,” a dark-haired, very elegantly dressed woman said with a bright smile.

Danny was nothing if not a gentleman, so he refrained from looking at her body and while maintaining the eye contact he almost missed her outstretched hand. When he finally noticed, he hurriedly shook it and with an apologetic smile added;

“And you must be Pamela. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” she replied and she seemed to have meant it.

“Shall we?” Danny offered the lady his arm which she gladly took.

+

The conversation flowed (but then again, when people meet for the first time, there’s always something to talk about), the dinner went fine, everything was nice. And yet, there was something missing. Pamela, as Danny found out, worked as an accountant. She was smart, okay, but she somehow managed to turn every conversation topic into economics. Danny couldn’t help but think she was a bit too absorbed in her job and he immediately gave himself a mental slap because when it came to being passionate about your job, he had no leg to stand on. They finished their meal and Danny drove Pamela home.

“I had a lovely time tonight,” she turned to him when he walked her to her door. Danny briefly considered his answer but quickly decided that he had nice enough of a time to give it another shot. After all, _‘you weren’t exactly Mr. Charming yourself, Daniel.’_

“So you’re up for another one?” It was only fair.

“Definitely.”

\+ 

Claude had to wait for the boys outside of his car so they could see him. He pulled his cap down a bit, (mostly to avoid unnecessary attention and hockey moms) and he buried his hands in the pockets of his jeans. When the boys emerged from the hive of kids in front of the school, he waved at them because they were evidently looking for their dad's car.

"Hey, boys!"

"Hi, Claaude!" they answered in unison.

It was Caelan who asked first. "Where's dad?"

"He's out tonight. So it's just you and me. The bad news is, no pizza." There was a mixture of 'aw, maaaan...' and 'not fair!'. 

"The good news is, I'm making grilled cheese." This statement, however, was followed by a mix of 'awesome!' and 'yaaay'.

“Can I sit in the front?” Caelan asked, hopeful.

“Sorry, buddy. You know too well your dad would skin me if something happened to you.”

“Yeah, probably,” Caelan answered in defeat and climbed into the back seat with his two brothers.

“Claaaude?” That was definitely Cam. Claude looked in the rear view mirror and Cam looked troubled.

“What’s up?” he asked uncertainly.

“Will you help me with my homework?” Cam pleaded. Whew! It was just homework.

“If it’s French or math, I’m your man,” Claude winked. “The rest is gonna have to wait for dad.” 

“Okaaay,” Cam smiled, looking happy, even. _‘I am the best step mom ever,’_ Claude thought.

\+ 

Danny returned quite early. Early for a date night, as Claude would sure point out. He saw Claude sleeping on the sofa so he laid the keys down as quietly as he could in order not to wake him but Claude stirred and woke up anyway.

“You’re home early,” he said with a frown which made him look like he was trying to think of what could possibly justify running home from a date.

Danny steered the conversation towards something he DID feel like talking about. “The boys are asleep already?” he asked, putting a grilled cheese sandwich between his teeth to free his arms and shrug off his coat.

“It’s Friday so they were pretty worn out from the whole week. Plus, we played mini sticks for a bit after dinner,” Claude continued, smiling proudly at the fact that Danny was stuffing his face with the grilled cheese sandwich Claude left for him on the counter despite just returning from dinner.

“Thanks for looking after them. Now that I’m home, you can go join the guys if you want. Hartsy said they were at that place… What’s it called…” Danny said with his mouth half full.

“The one where we went last time?”

“Yeah, that one. I mean, it’s not even eleven,” Danny looked at his watch, swallowing the last of his sandwich.

“Nah, I’m good,“ Claude waved his hand dismissively. “But hey, you feel like going a few rounds of ping-pong?” Danny’s face lit up considerably at the prospect of a competitive activity and also at the fact that Claude didn’t inquire about the date any further.

”You bet,” Danny said with that spark in his eyes. “The real question is though… Are you ready to lose?”

“Ha! Don’t be so sure about that. Loser does the dishes?”

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Feeling bold, are you? Alright, you’re on.”

+

“Game, set, match!” Danny said with his arms lifted victoriously.

“Dammit. I’ll get you next time, though.” Oh, how Claude hated to lose. But a bet is a bet so he went to the kitchen and started doing the dishes. Then he noticed Danny picking up the washcloth.

“You don’t have to-”

“Yeah, I do. The last time I let you put away the dishes, I couldn’t find anything for a week.”

“I was new around here back then! I’ve gotten much better, you know,” Claude defended himself.

“You did,” Danny had to admit.

+

They were putting the last of the plates away when Claude turned to Danny, kind of shifting his weight from one leg to the other. 

“Thanks for taking me in and letting me become a part of your family. I really appreciate it,” Claude said out of the blue, eyes darting all over the place until they settled on Danny’s.

“No problem. Had I thought it was a bad idea, I wouldn’t have offered.” Danny’s calm smile was contagious. Claude couldn’t help himself but smile back.

“Good night, Danny.”

“Good night, Claude.” 

_‘So nice to hear my name pronounced correctly...’_ Claude thought. It made him feel a bit closer to home and a lot less alone.

+

Home ice losses are bad as it is but it rarely got worse than that Wednesday. Flyers blew a three goal lead and eventually lost in the shootout after both Danny and Claude failed to sneak the puck past Antero Niittymaki. There was a dead silence in the locker room except for the clattering of pads being taken off and the rustling of gear being packed.  
When Danny and Claude arrived home, the boys were waiting for them and they even had the dinner ready. It was their own endearing way of making Danny’s day suck less.

“It’s just pasta but Carson said it’s edible,” Caelan said apologetically.

“I helped set the table!” Cam ran towards his dad and hugged him around the waist.

“Thanks, boys. I have the best kids in the world,” Danny stroke Cam’s hair and then nodded at Claude. “Come on, let’s eat.”

+

The dinner was pretty much silent. As Danny got up to deal with the dishes, Cam got out of his chair with a conspiratorial look on his face. When Danny saw Cam standing on his tip toes, he leaned down to him and Cam whispered, "Claude seems really upset. You should go talk to him, dad."

"I'm not sure it'll do any good, Cam. Tonight was a real bust," Danny answered quietly.

"So you're not even gonna try? You always tell me never to give up without trying." Danny felt a stab of pride.

"True. Okay, you win. I’ll talk to him." He glanced towards Claude who was slouching over his cup of coffee.

"Go brush your teeth and tell your brothers I'll be there in a minute to tuck you all in, okay?" He pressed a soft kiss onto his son's forehead and then let him scuttle off to his room.  
Danny didn’t really know where to begin so he sat across the table from Claude and watched him in silence for a while.

“This sucks,” Claude said flatly, eyes glued to his hands.

“It does, yeah. But you can’t let this get to you.” Danny tried to choose his words carefully. “We have to learn from our mistakes and move on. Look ahead of us. Should’ve’s and could’ve’s are no good.”

“I know. I’m trying but sometimes it’s tough. How did I MISS the frickin’ net?? It was right there!” he gestured to the place on the table that was in front of him.

“I’ll tell you what... How about we stay after the skate tomorrow and we practice penalty shots, maybe try to hit a few targets?” Danny offered. Claude seemed to be contemplating the idea. And he decided it was a good idea. Better than brooding around which was his current plan.

“I guess we could use that after this glorious fiasco, huh?”

“Yeah, and the one before in Jersey…” Danny reminded. Claude just shook his head at the unpleasant memory.

“You think we’ll be able to make Boosh stay for a while and catch for us?”

“Definitely. If he says no, we’ll just threaten him to shoot pucks at his head for the rest of the season,” Danny said offhandedly.

“You’re a sneaky little bastard, you know that?” Claude wasn’t smiling quite yet but when he looked up at Danny, he couldn’t hold the smile back anymore.

“How do you DO that?” Claude asked after a while.

“You’ll learn to deal and channel the frustration in the right direction,” Danny said encouragingly.

“No, I mean, how do you make people feel better just by talking to them. It’s like you got the dad-chromosome or something,” Claude struggled to find the right words.

“Same as hockey. Practice, my friend.” Danny sighed, seemingly exasperated, but Claude could see that loving look Danny gets in his eyes every time he talks about his boys. Yeah, dad-chromosome. That must be it.

+

The following road trip sure as hell lifted their spirits. Danny led the team to a 4-1 win over the Leafs with two goals and an assist and they managed to beat the Bruins 2-1 in overtime. Bringing 4 points from a 2-game trip was a significant confidence boost for the team. And maybe that was the little extra spark they needed that Tuesday night. Claude opened the scoring in the first period after getting an assist from Danny. It was back and forth a lot since Malkin tied the game twice with a couple of power play goals. In the end, it was Hartsy who became the hero of the game when he shot right through Fleury on a Flyers power play. Damn that felt good. Beating the Pens in the Wells Fargo Center was always a treat.

“What a game!!” Danny rubbed his half-frozen hands as they headed for his car.

“I know, right?? That look on Crosby’s face was priceless!” Claude chipped in. “You wanna drive?”

“No, I need you to drop me off somewhere. I know it’s late but I promised Pamela a quick dinner before we leave for Montreal.”

“Pamela, Pamela… Oh yeah. Wait, isn’t it your third date?” Claude just loved messing with Danny like that. Danny’s eyebrows shot up.

“Seriously? You’re counting my dates now?” 

Claude took a breath as he wanted to make a comment but then thought better of it so he closed his mouth again. There was a brief silence and Claude was just grinning to himself.

“...stud,” he murmured in a deep voice, apparently very amused.

“Claude!” Danny was so done with this.

“Alright, alright. I’m shutting up now.”

+

"Okay, turn left here and it's two blocks down on the right." Claude pulled over to the curb and turned off the engine. Danny took a deep breath like he was bracing himself for something.

"Hey, Danny, is she a dentist? Because you look like you're about to have your teeth pulled," Claude observed.

“She is not a dentist. It’s just that I’m a little rusty at this whole dating business. I’m allowed to be nervous, don’t you think? I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Danny said, much calmer now, carefully hiding what he really felt. He wasn’t rusty. The thing was, he went out with a nice, good looking, smart woman and there was no spark, no nothing. And he tried to fight off the creepy feeling that something was wrong with him.

"Okay. Have fun," Claude offered an encouraging smile. He decided to wait and have a look at this Pamela character. He saw Danny ring the bell and in a few seconds, a dark haired lady opened the door. She looked younger than Danny but older than Claude, though it was kind of hard to tell because it was dark already and she wasn’t exactly a few feet away. She looked quite pretty but the little-too-short skirt somehow made her look dumber than she actually might have been. It made her look like one of those girls who make every statement sound like a question. Claude just sighed to himself, shook his head and hoped that the ‘bimbo’ is at least nice to Danny.

"Come on in. You don't mind if we stay in this time, do you? I cooked," she said, sounding hopeful.

"Great, why not," Danny said with a smile.

\+ 

"It's very good," he said, which wasn’t a total lie.

"Thank you! I got that recipe from a colleague of mine. She does this all the time because her boyfriend loves it. And....." Danny didn't really hear the rest. His mind wandered off back to Wells Fargo Center… Because that shift?? He chased the puck to the boards, shook off Goligoski, snuck past Crosby and then spun around confused and clumsy Dupuis. Pass to the blue line, Carle to Hartnell, heavy traffic in front of the net, digging the puck out of the scrum, pass to Claude and BAM! One nothing Flyers!!!… He only realized he isn't listening when he heard Pamela ask him:

“Are you okay?” Danny’s head shot up. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Most people don’t just smile at their plate while somebody’s talking to them,” she shrugged.

“Sorry.” Danny felt bad for not being good company. “I was just thinking about the game today.”

“What about it?” she said with a smile. Wow. She obviously didn’t watch the game.

“Claude scored an awesome goal and I had an assist on it,” he said, thinking that it explained his good mood perfectly. Pamela didn’t say anything but the look on her face said _‘...and?’_ so Danny felt like he had to elaborate. “The thing is, with me and Claude both playing center, we can’t play on one line and we only get to play together on power plays. And I really like playing with him. He sees the ice well, he’s fast, smart, sneaky, he’s got one of the softest pairs of hands in the league.” Pamela giggled, 

“Soft hands?”

“It’s an expression. Means he handles the puck very well.”

“Oh. Okay,” she nodded. “Anything else you’d like to tell me about your friend?” she perked up. “Because I have a really nice colleague whom we could fix him up with! How would you describe him?” she said with one eyebrow raised.

Danny blinked and shrugged, “I don’t know… A bit taller than me, ginger hair, slight French accent... He’s… Look, he’s handsome alright but I’m not sure he’s looking right now.” He didn’t sound quite grumpy but his omnipresent smile was gone. The defensiveness in his own voice surprised him. Why on Earth did he care who Claude hooks up with?

“Fair enough. Maybe some other time,” Pamela smartly backed off.

They finished their dinner in silence, Danny thanked her, and with ‘I gotta go back to my kids’ and ‘good night,’ he left. 

+

“Hey, you’re still up?”

“Yeah, the kids are asleep and I wanted to check some of the highlights ‘cause I was kinda busy when it was actually happening, you know? And maaan, you schooled Dupuis like nobody’s business on that shift. Made him look ridiculous. Even more so than usual,” Claude snickered.

“Are the boys packed?”

“Yeah. I talked to Sylvie, too, she’ll pick ‘em up after school tomorrow.”

“Wow. You’re the best baby sitter I’ve ever had,” Danny said only half-jokingly.

“What can I say? I’m one of a kind.” Claude sounded satisfied with himself. “How was the date?” Claude inquired.

“Um, nice. Real nice.” Danny tried really hard to sound more enthusiastic but Claude could see right through him so he just raised his eyebrows, unimpressed, and deadpanned:

“So, it was boring.” Claude shook his head, “Knew it.” He turned back to the computer.

“I didn’t say that.” It sounded like Danny was trying to convince himself more than anyone. He frowned.

“Whatever, man,” Claude told the screen of his computer, clearly not believing Danny one bit.

As Danny was on his way to the fridge to get some water he laid his phone on the counter which turned out to be a tactical mistake when the phone buzzed a few seconds later. Danny leapt across the kitchen to get it but Claude was faster.

“Ooh, let’s see what the bimbo has to say,” Claude grinned, holding the phone as high as he could to keep Danny from reaching it. Children.

“She is NOT a bimbo,” Danny protested, feeling obligated to defend the lady’s honor, as he tried to reclaim his phone from Claude’s grasp. “You take that back right now, Claude Dari Giroux!” he warned. 

“Or what?” 

That was the last straw that turned things into a good old-fashioned immature wrestling match. Claude might have a few inches on his mentor but he found out the hard way that Danny is deceptively strong and very sneaky. Finally, Danny was firmly holding Claude’s wrists behind Claude’s own back, the phone lost in a knot of their hands. 

“Come on, gimme,” Danny commanded. He was pressed up against Claude who was leaning against the counter and laughing, amused by Danny’s frustration. Then Danny’s brain short-circuited and in a split second, he decided to kiss that annoying smile off his face. Danny felt Claude freeze completely. The realization of what he just did hit him like a wave. He broke the kiss, let go of Claude’s hands and took a very careful step back. He watched Claude like you watch a vase standing on the very edge of a table. Only when Claude pushed himself off the kitchen counter and without a word headed for his room did Danny realize he was holding his breath. Just as Claude was about to leave the kitchen, he stopped and, not turning around, he laid Danny’s phone on the edge of the counter. Then he disappeared in the dark hallway leading to his room.  
Danny ran his hand through his hair and all he could think was. _‘Oh god. Well done, Daniel. What were you thinking??’_ Then he realized they’re leaving for Montréal tomorrow morning and decided that he didn’t want to turn up at the airport looking like a zombie because Lavi can always tell when they neglect the sleeping regimen. How can he always tell?? Dammit. He took a quick shower, slipped into his bed and tried really hard not to think. With little success.

+

The next morning, Danny woke up to the sound of the coffee maker. He rubbed his eyes, squinted at his alarm clock and he wondered _how the hell is Claude up before me?_ Rolling out of bed was slightly more difficult than other mornings. And looking in the mirror as he finished brushing his teeth wasn’t a huge confidence boost. Looking at him, there was a tired guy with a troubled expression, bags under his eyes, unshaven face framed by messy waves of dark hair. He washed his face with cold water and ran his still damp hands through his hair in an effort to straighten it out. Finally, he gave up on his morning looks and headed to the kitchen. Claude was sitting at the counter, already dressed, eating his breakfast and occasionally mucking around with his phone.

“Morning,” Danny tried.

“Morning.” Claude told his bowl of cereal, poking it with a spoon unnecessarily. 

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Danny ducked his head a little, trying to make Claude look him in the eyes.

“About what?” Claude didn’t lift his eyes. 

“Look, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-” 

“Daaaad! Caelan took my Flyers jersey!” Carson accused, stomping loudly down the stairs.

“-I didn’t! This one’s mine!” Caelan interrupted him rather exasperatedly.

“Carson, yours is in the hamper. I put it in there because it had Monday’s dinner all over it, okay? Now stop yelling at each other and eat your breakfast, I don’t want you to be late for school.” That was Danny. Turning from a ball of confusion into Dad in 0.3 seconds.

“Meet you at the airport, okay?” Claude used the havoc to disappear.

“Bye, Claude!” Claude heard from somewhere around his waist. He looked down at Cameron who was smiling widely at him.

“Bye, buddy, I’ll see ya next week, okay?” He ruffled the boy’s hair before stepping out into the cold air.

\+ 

Lavi did the headcount and since all were present, they boarded the plane to Montréal. Claude tried to get some sleep but he gave up after half an hour. Too many thoughts were going through his mind, many of which were along the lines of _‘holy crap, what do I do now’_. From someplace in the back of his head a little voice emerged. Pesky little bugger kept saying things like _‘What do you do? You stop being an ass is what you do. Danny’s a great teammate and your best friend. The last thing he deserves is you cutting him off over something THAT stupid.’_ And it was hard to argue with that. Danny’s been nothing but good to him since they met. Claude looked up to him as a player and as a person. He couldn't really imagine not spending time with him. Not being able to bump into him during warm ups or bicker about silly little everyday things (like arguing - in French - over what kind of cheese should they buy). It wasn’t until they got into their hotel room that there were no nosy ears of any of their teammates. Danny threw his bag on the floor, turned to Claude and very fast, as if he was afraid he’s going to change his mind, he said:

“I’m sorry. I have no idea what came over me. You’re my be-... you’re my friend and I don’t want that to change.” The guilt was radiating from Danny’s big sad doe eyes and he looked like he was bracing himself for the worst.

“You just surprised me is all. Didn’t know you swing that way,” Claude said with a slightly amused smile, not a trace of resentment or anger in his voice. He sounded almost curious. Danny spread out his arms in frustration.

“I DON'T. That’s the thing…” he rested one hand on his hip and rubbed his forehead with the other. Then he let his arms fall down in defeat and looked up at Claude who was smiling at him mildly. “Wait, you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Claude wondered honestly. He watched as Danny took a breath to list the reasons why a guy should be mad about another guy kissing him on the mouth but he raised his hand to silence him.

“Surprised? Yes. Mad? Hell no. Danny, it’s no big deal, really. People get confused, happens all the time,” Claude shrugged with a smile and Danny finally relaxed. “I actually wanted to apologize for being a little weird earlier.” It was hard to come up with the right words of gratitude, so Danny just nodded thankfully.

“You were right, though.”

“About what? She WAS a dentist, wasn’t she,” Claude said with a smug smirk.

“You’re an ass,” Danny laughed instead of saying ‘you were right about me not enjoying the date.’

“A bit, yeah.” 

And that was it. Everything seemed to be back to normal. 

\+ 

Claude heard the front door open and he figured it’d be the kids. He stood up to go say hi but he barely even saw Caelan as Danny’s oldest son stormed off to his room, his shoes still on. He immediately realized something bad must have happened because Cam looked pretty shaken and his eyes were tearing up. 

“It’ll be okay, you’ll see,” Carson hugged his brother’s shoulders with one arm.

“Hey guys, what happened?” Claude asked cautiously.

“It’s mom. She threatened to drag dad to court again…” Carson practically rolled his eyes.

“I don’t want to stop seeing dad!” Cam managed to say in between sobs. Claude instinctively leaned down to face the boys and without a hint of uncertainty he told them;

“Your dad will NEVER let that happen, you hear me?” Both boys nodded obediently. “Now go unpack. Your dad’ll be here in a second.” 

He gave them an encouraging smile but it faded instantly when they fell out of sight. He looked out the window and saw Danny and Sylvie shouting at each other. ‘Fuck,’ he thought to himself. Danny only gets really angry when it comes to something or someone trying to take the boys away from him. This was different though, Claude’s never seen him this furious and desperate at the same time. When Sylvie finally left, tyres screeching on the asphalt, Danny took a deep breath (or two, or seven…) and went back inside.

“The boys?”

“In their rooms,” Claude pointed his thumb over his shoulder. After that, Danny disappeared for a good half an hour. Claude went to look for him and he was about to step into Cam’s room when he heard Danny talking so he stopped just outside of the door. Danny’s voice was so calm and soothing that it made HIM feel better even though he wasn’t really the one with a problem. When he heard the ‘bonne nuit’ he made a few quick steps away from the door not to be so obvious. He immediately felt a bit like an idiot when he realized that him eavesdropping on them is the last thing on Danny’s mind right now. When Danny closed the door to Cam’s room, his face grew 10 years older in about a second. Until now, Claude hadn’t realized how exhausting it must be for Danny to be strong for the boys’ sake, not to let them see how tired he is of all the fighting. Danny went right past him ignoring him completely and headed straight for the kitchen. He reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of what seemed like gin but it could have been anything, really. Not that it mattered. He poured himself a glass and turned it bottoms up to drink all of it in one swig. He grimaced but immediately poured himself another.

“That b-” Danny never really got around to saying the whole word ‘bitch’ which was a habit he developed in case the boys were around. It was amazing how, after what he and Sylvie have been through, he refused to call her names in front of the boys.

“How long do you think she can keep this up??” Danny asked Claude, looking at him with a pleading expression. Claude didn’t know what to say but he went with his gut. He closed the distance between them in one slow step and wrapped his arms tightly around Danny.

“Come here.”

Danny was too exhausted to think about anything, let alone protest. He just returned the hug and melted into it. Claude could feel the tension ebbing away from Danny’s body. He just felt the need to help him carry the load somehow and a ‘simple’ hug seemed to have done the trick. At least for a while. When they let go, Danny still looked (and felt) very tired but that sense of hopelessness was gone. Claude then patted him on the shoulder gently and headed for his bedroom.

“Claude?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

+

It was pretty cold and snowing heavily. Going out for a drink seemed like a good idea that day, so they went. It was a nice, seemingly quiet place. But as the evening progressed, it got a little noisy and a tad crowded. Danny offered to go get another round and started to make his way to the bar. He was just about to get there when his tipsiness got the better of him and he bumped into some guy. He turned around and reflexively started apologizing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

“Sorry?? You’re sorry?” the guy screamed, obviously very very drunk. “What ARE you? CANADIAN??”

“Well, actually-” Danny didn’t even get to finish what he was going to say. The guy swung real hard and gave him a solid right hook. Danny was lying on the floor in no time and as the assailant was readying to pick him up to lay another one on him, out of nowhere came Claude and elbowed the guy in the nose. He was sharp enough to realize that using his hands isn’t such a good idea. He once tried playing with a broken finger and he concluded that it hurt like a motherfucker. He swiftly helped Danny get up, they grabbed their coats and made themselves scarce before anyone had the sense to call the cops. They ran two blocks, just to be sure, before they stopped.

“Can’t leave you alone for one minute. Unbelievable,” Claude panted, bent over, hands on his knees.

“Shit. We forgot to pay,” Danny realized, also breathing heavily.

“We can stop by tomorrow. Now I’m calling a cab and we’re going home before we freeze our butts off. You don’t look too good, anyway.”

“You certainly know how to flatter a guy,” Danny snarked but he had to admit Claude was right so they hailed a cab and headed back home.

+

Danny was busy inspecting the damages by randomly poking the most swollen places on his face so Claude was the one who managed to stay focused long enough to unlock the door. They took off their coats and kicked off their shoes rather haphazardly. Danny made a mental note to fix that before the boys come. They didn't even bother to turn on the big lights. As drunk as they were they would probably only hiss at the brightness so Claude settled with turning on the small kitchen light. Danny flung himself on the sofa and tried to ignore the hot pain numbing the left side of his face. Claude emerged from the kitchen holding an ice pack in his hand.

“Scoot over. Come on, move,” he commanded. Danny grunted but - not bothering to open his eyes - he made some space for Claude to sit down next to him. Claude watched him for a few seconds and when his head seemed to have stopped spinning, he leaned over and pushed the stray hair out of Danny’s face. Danny’s hair, much like Claude’s, was naturally wavy and when snowed on became very willful so Claude had to tuck the loose strands behind Danny’s ear to make room for the ice pack. He then gently pushed the ice on the bruise, making Danny hiss and frown.

“Yeah, you big baby… Fifteen frickin’ years in the NHL and you still haven’t learned how to duck a punch? Come on, Danny…” Claude admonished, his speech slurring slightly.

“I guess my reflexes aren’t what they used to be,” Danny mumbled. “How did you put it… old age catching up with me. That’s it.”

“I mean it. You gotta be more careful,” Claude said stubbornly. Danny sat up and squinted at Claude, trying to focus.

“Since when are YOU the mother hen?” Danny was visibly amused.

“Since you started to need me to clock guys in the face.” And before Danny could come up with another sarcastic retort, Claude leaned in and kissed Danny’s smiling lips.

“Whoa,” Danny made a slightly confused face. “Where did that come from?”

“I don’t know,” Claude said in a ‘get off my back’ tone, frowning. “It’s YOU. Mr. Nice, Mr. Perfect Dad…” he didn’t quite get to finish his list of compliments. And when Danny kissed him back, he forgot most of them anyway… They kissed hesitantly at first but the haze of intoxication turned it into a lazy make out. When they broke the kiss, Danny was smiling widely at Claude.

“Umm,” Claude raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. “Hey, what happened to Nicole?” He brought up Claude’s last hook up.

“Didn’t even know what icing is…” Claude said matter-of-factly, like it explained everything.

“One of those, huh?” Danny said as he was already pulling him into another, much more daring kiss. Danny suddenly winced when Claude touched his left cheek with his hand. 

"Ow," he cringed. 

"Sorry," Claude held his hand up.

"It's fine. I'm just gonna lie down for a bit," said Danny as he maneuvered himself so that he could lie on his back, his head in Claude's lap. Soon after that he went out like a light. Claude watched him sleep for a while, idly running his fingers through Danny's hair, but still feeling the alcohol do its work, he soon fell asleep himself.

\+ 

Claude woke up lying on the sofa covered with a blanket. As he was trying to regain full consciousness he was flooded with a wave of flashbacks. The bar, the drinks, the fight, the ride home, the ice pack, the kissing… He still couldn’t explain what possessed him to kiss another guy. But it was DANNY. And honestly, Claude felt anything but regret. Everything was different with Danny. Everything ABOUT him was different.

“Morning,” Claude hesitantly rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what kind of reaction to expect. But Danny’s reaction was so… so HIM. He turned to Claude and leaning on the counter gave him a wide, warm smile. 

“Morning.” Claude just stood there and watched him continue making breakfast. Danny was walking around the kitchen in his boxers, hair still wet from shower. He looked at Claude with his eyebrows raised as if to say ‘Are you just gonna stand there all day?’ Then he just rolled his eyes.

“Sit down, Romeo. I made grilled cheese.”

“Wow. You ARE prefect,” Claude joked but he would kill for a proper breakfast and a caffeine fix. He poured himself some of the freshly made coffee and sat behind the counter. “How’s your uh- how’s your owie?” he pointed at Danny’s face.

“I’ll live. Doesn’t even hurt that much anymore but the worst part about walking around with a shiner on your face are the questions I hate answering to.”

“I think it’ll be best if you tell the truth. Nothing bad about it, wasn’t your fault.”

“Sure. I’ll tell them. That we went to a bar, had a couple-” Claude laughed but Danny continued “had a couple of drinks, I got punched by a guy who hates Canadians, we went home and made out on the couch.”

“Maybe we could skip the last part?” Claude looked at him, one eye closed.

“Yeah, we might want to do that.” And they both burst out laughing at the image of their teammate’s faces. Danny took the sandwiches out of the toaster and as he was slipping them, still hot, onto Claude’s plate, Claude launched from his chair, leaned over the counter, grabbed Danny by the back of his neck and gave him a kiss.

“Thanks,” he smiled sheepishly.

“Now that’s a nice ‘thank you’ for breakfast,” Danny said contently.

“Hey, uh- are we gonna tell the boys?” Claude asked tentatively. Instead of an answer, Danny smiled to himself. “What?”

“...You said WE,” Danny looked up at Claude.

“It’s you and me, right?” Claude asked as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Right.”

+

"Lavi's gonna kill me," Danny thought out loud after a while.

"Forget Lavi, Sylvie's gonna kill you." Claude reminded.

“Right, Sylvie… Dammit.”

“You want me to pick up the boys today? I can drive them to practice and we can pick up dinner on our way home.”

“I’d be eternally grateful. I still need to see the doc about my new facial ornament… Oh, and uh-, no checking out the hockey moms.”

“Danny, Danny… You know YOU are my favorite hockey mom,” Claude barely ducked the washcloth thrown in his direction.

“You’re an ass,” Danny shook his head.

“I gotta be doing something right if you like me so much,” Claude grinned.

+

Their life didn’t change much from that point on. It was the small things, really. A brush of hands here, sideways glance there. (And when there was no one around to judge them or comment on it, also an ass-grab here, a sloppy, open mouth kiss there.) But they were still Danny and Claude, still housemates, roommates, best friends, competitive in any activity that could be taken competitively. Neither of them talked about it for there was no need. No need for labels either.

\+ 

“Ow!” Hartsy still pouted, slightly limping into the locker room.

“Jeeez, I said I was sorry.” Carter and his frickin’ slap shot.

“Would you be so kind as to practice your slap shot elsewhere next time? Thanks,” Hartsy sulked.

“Ooookay…” Lavi exhaled, looking and probably feeling like an exhausted parent. “Hartsy, it’s probably nothing but have that thigh checked out by the trainer anyway. Carter, I appreciate your efforts but in the future, please try to avoid maiming your teammates. G, get changed and stop by my office.”

“What, me?” Claude raised his head in surprise. Then he looked at Danny like he was supposed to know what’s going on. It was like a reflex. He got used to having Danny around all the time and being able to turn to him for advice, support or just a good laugh anytime he needed or wanted. But this time Danny just shrugged.

“Yes, you. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble this time.” Claude knew he didn’t do anything lately (that he knew of anyway) but it was still a relief to hear that. He got changed quickly and there he was at the door of Lavi’s office. He knocked.

“Come on in!”

“You wanted to see me?” Claude stepped in hesitantly and closed the door behind him.

“Yes. Come in and have a seat.” And it started to feel like being in the principal’s office again… “I have an early birthday present for you. Congratulations, kid, you’ve been named an All Star.” There was a stunned silence.

“I- what? Really?? That’s awesome!” ‘Danny’s gonna freak!’ He kept the last part to himself.

“Don’t celebrate just yet. I’ll be there to keep an eye on you,” Lavi smiled smugly.

“Congratulations, coach, you deserve it!” Claude stood up to shake his hand.

“Well, that’s all from me. You can go break the news to the boys. I didn’t tell them, though they’ll find out soon enough. The roster will be online tomorrow.”

“Thanks, coach.” Claude stumbled out of the door, itching to run to the locker room. He forced himself to walk instead of running and when he entered the locker room, he could feel all the eyes on him.

“Guess who’s been named an All-Star?” The locker room burst into cheering. “Lavi.” There was murmuring, guys were exchanging confused looks. Save for Danny, of course, who was looking at Claude from the corner, tilting his head, wearing that ‘...really?’ kind of expression. Claude gave him the ‘yeah, yeah, bite me’ smile and said “...and me!” Guys surrounded him immediately, everyone patting him on the back. He couldn’t help but grin and let the sheer excitement and happiness flow through him. When the crowd dissolved, he started searching for Danny with his eyes. Danny was just finishing packing his gear. They didn’t speak at all until they stepped out into the empty parking lot.

“You KNEW!” Claude used his free hand to punch Danny in the shoulder

“Yeah, I did. I overheard him talking on the phone. He had no choice but to spill. I’m proud of you, though. You’ve earned it,” Danny said with a smile as they were loading their bags into the trunk of the car.

“What I don’t understand is how you aren’t there. Right now, you have more points and more goals than me…” Claude argued. But Danny was as serene as ever when he shrugged and said;

“It’s always a tight race, look at the competition.” Then his face darkened considerably. “On top of that, I’m not getting any younger and the suspension earlier didn’t do me any favors either.” _‘No. I will not think about that again.’_ It had been frickin’ months and he was still frustrated about how poorly the Department of Player Safety handled the whole situation. Claude could tell what Danny was thinking about so he changed the subject. 

“You wanna go grab a bite? Like, a celebratory dinner?” Danny (like the concerned parent he was) looked at his watch as he was considering whether they’ll have enough time to pack for tomorrow’s trip to Buffalo. 

“Sure, why not. Your treat, Mr. All Star?” and he was back, just like that, smiling again.

“My treat,” Claude nodded.

“See ya’ tomorrow, Brioux’s? Kick some Sabre ass!!” Hartsy hollered at them from across the whole parking lot. Then he seemed to have remembered something and he slow jogged all the way to them. “Yo, Danny boy!” Hartsy grinned.

“Hey, Hartsy.”

“How are things going with Pamela?” Crap. Danny put on his best ‘what a pity’ face.

“Didn’t work out.”

“Aww, maan. I really thought you two would click,” he said almost sadly. “Meh. Lots of fish in the sea, eh?”

“Yeah.” Danny used all of his willpower not to smile. Claude just kind of stood there and pretended this doesn’t concern him. When they said goodbye and Hartsy returned to his car, Claude looked around. Yup, Hartsy was the last. They climbed into the front seats of Danny’s car and closed the doors. They rolled their heads on the headrests to face each other.

“Hey,” Danny’s voice was as soothing as ever.

“Hey,” Claude smiled back. Alone at last. Claude didn’t bother looking around before leaning over the gearshift for a quick kiss. Just as he was about to pull away, he felt Danny's still cold palm on the side of his jaw, urging him to let the kiss last a bit longer. He happily gave in. When they finally left each other's personal space, Danny got comfortable in his seat and reached for his seat belt.

“Jones on Chestnut Street?” Claude asked with a grin before turning the key in the ignition.

“Yeah, let’s go get your daily fix of grilled cheese,” Danny rolled his eyes theatrically.

\+ 

It was between road trips so Danny was having the boys for a few days. It was a Wednesday so it was his turn to take them to practice. Claude was waiting for them in the living room, mucking around with his laptop, looking weirdly excited and completely engrossed in whatever he was doing over there.

“No TV until you’ve done at least some of your homework,” Danny reminded. The boys groaned but the rules are the rules and as they picked up all of their stuff and disappeared into their rooms, the house grew deceptively quiet. Danny took a bottle of water out of the fridge and leaning against the counter drank about half of it in a couple swigs. As he was putting the bottle down, he noticed Claude.

“What are you doing over there?” he tried to gain Claude’s attention. Instead of an answer, Claude closed the laptop, tossed it aside and half-leapt over the sofa. He continued his cheerful stride all the way to Danny and after quick-checking if the hall’s empty he dared to pull Danny closer by tugging on the belt loops of his jeans.

“I was just booking our plane tickets to Raleigh,” he said.

“What do you mean OUR plane tickets? I’m tagging along as what, your date?” Danny laughed lightly.

“You haven’t checked your phone in a while, have you…” Claude stepped away from Danny disbelievingly. Danny hurriedly reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone to check for messages. There was one. And about half a dozen missed calls. The message read: _‘You’ve been named Iginla’s replacement for the ASG. Congrats. Lavi.’_

“Tabarnak…. What- how??” Danny stared at his phone, re-reading the message.

“Iginla withdrew, family stuff,” Claude explained briefly. Danny laughed at the pleasant surprise and without thinking, he made two quick steps and threw his arms around Claude who hugged him back so tightly he almost lifted him off the ground. When Danny was standing on both of his feet again, he took Claude’s face in his hands and gave him a deep, long kiss.

“You could use a shave,” he informed Claude, running his hand over Claude’s stubble.

“Likewise,” Claude giggled.

“I can’t wait to tell the boys,” Danny shook his head like he still couldn’t believe it.

“Tell us what? That we have a new step mom?” Caelan deadpanned that question as if he was asking what was for dinner. There was a dead silence and Danny would have sworn he heard both his and Claude’s heartbeat. He could feel the pulse in his ears.

“Caelan… How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see you two smooching,” Caelan said, crinkling his nose. Danny and Claude exchanged nervous looks to which Caelan just rolled his eyes, took the soda which he originally came for and left without another word.

“That went well, don’t you think?” Claude asked with his eyebrows raised, unsuccessfully holding back a smile.

“A little too well, if you ask me,” Danny contemplated, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We wanted to tell them anyway,” Claude pointed out and he wasn’t wrong.

“Not gonna lie, I was hoping for a more subtle way of doing this.”

“They’ll understand. You raised them well.” Claude outstretched his hand towards Danny and jerked his head in the direction of the boys’ rooms. “Come on.” Danny took Claude’s hand, took a deep breath and followed Claude through the hallway.

\+ 

Ten days were gone in the blink of an eye and before they knew it, they were in Raleigh, the All-Star weekend ahead of them. 

“You know, I was worried about the Draft tomorrow and all but I think it’ll turn out pretty good,” Claude concluded when they finally got settled in their hotel room.

“Yeah, I agree,” Danny said. “You think they’ll split us up?”

“I don’t know. If we don’t go last, I’m a happy camper.” Claude took off his jacket and threw it on the bed. “I’ll get changed and we can head out.”

“Head out where?”

“I thought we were meeting the boys and your parents for dinner...”

“They aren’t flying in until tomorrow morning, we’ll see them then,” Danny said in a ‘I thought I told you so’ tone.

“How come they aren’t here already?” Claude wondered with a frown.

“The thing about late reservations is that you can’t choose the exact date or hour, you know?” Danny retorted with a pretend remorse.

“Oh really? That’s too bad.” Claude said with equally fake pity in his voice. “Too bad there was absolutely nothing you could have done about that, eh?” Then he dropped the act and admonished, “Shame on you, ditching your kids like that.”

“What? It’s a great opportunity for them to spend more time with their grandparents. They don’t see them all that often,” Danny didn’t even bother making it sound convincing.

“Right,” Claude nodded, already making his way to where Danny stood. In one swift motion he placed his hand on the back of Danny’s neck and pulled Danny into a kiss. Danny didn’t like beating around the bush either. He buried his hand in Claude’s soft ginger curls and with nothing holding him back he returned Claude’s kiss, passionately and shamelessly. Completely consumed by the kiss, Danny barely noticed Claude’s hand slipping under the lapels of his jacket but when Claude tried to take it off his shoulders, Danny broke the kiss and looked up at him, panting hard, mouth half opened. Claude stopped but the very determined expression in his face said _‘I’m in. Are you?’_ and Danny was so in. Because Claude always gets what he wants. On or off the ice. And now he wanted Danny. All the way. 

Danny barely had the time to shrug the jacket the rest of the way off before getting slammed against the door. Claude was usually gentle but now was not the time. He knew he could never be this rough with a woman. Everything felt so different. Firm muscles instead of soft breasts, broad shoulders instead of tiny ones, and the ferocity of a hockey fight. But Danny was far from complaining - au contraire, in fact - so Claude let all those worries ebb away along with the rest of the world. He reached behind Danny’s back to get to the door lock and turned it with a click. Danny used the distraction to push himself off the door and tackled Claude down to the soft hotel carpet. He immediately regretted that decision when he realized that this position was most inconvenient for taking clothes off but being on top made him feel like he had the upper hand. Boy, was he wrong. Claude flipped them over with ease and pinned Danny’s wrists above Danny’s head. Danny stretched his neck to reach Claude’s lips but Claude moved out of reach.

“Frickin’ tease…” Danny opened his mouth to complain some more but Claude silenced him with another kiss, eliciting a helpless moan. Danny squirmed under Claude until Claude let go of his wrists. He wrapped his newly freed arms around Claude and let his hands roam from the shoulder blades all the way to the small of Claude’s back. Suddenly, Claude felt a hand pressing on his chest so he broke the kiss and looked at Danny.

“Bed,” Danny half asked, half commanded. Claude nodded hastily and pushed his weight off of Danny’s body. They stumbled into the bedroom trying to undress each other and leaving a trail of clothes and shoes behind them. As Claude backed into the side of the bed, Danny put his hands on Claude’s shoulders, shoved him back and Claude felt his body sink into the soft mattress.

“C’mere…” Claude panted, extending his arms towards Danny who smirked and climbed on top of him and proceeded to kiss Claude on the mouth, the jaw, the neck, the collarbone, the chest, the belly…… What Claude saw next made his eyes roll back and squeeze shut.

“Jesus…” Claude breathed out, feeling the arousal shutting his brain down mercilessly. And if there was any answer, Claude didn’t hear it.

+

Danny woke up first. He turned his head on the pillow and watched Claude’s chest rise regularly with each breath. Not wanting to wake him, he carefully untangled himself from the sheets and sneaked into the bathroom. He stepped into the shower and let the hot water flow down his body. He leaned on the wall, propping himself with one arm, and hung his head, letting the hair fall into his face. When he closed his eyes, his mind was full of vivid imagery from last night. Good god. He switched a hot shower for a cold one and got the washing over with as quick as he could. After he brushed his teeth and shaved, he looked up into the oval mirror above the sink once more and studied his own reflection. He no longer saw a tired, unhappy middle-aged man. He saw a man glowing with happiness and full of energy and he couldn’t help but laugh at his own silliness. He then put on one of those big white soft hotel bathrobes and upon checking the weird clock hanging above the bed he decided it was time to wake Claude up. He sat on the edge of the bed on Claude’s side. Claude was lying on his belly with his forearms stuffed under his pillow, making his clearly visible shoulder muscles bulge. Danny laid his hand on Claude’s bare shoulder blade.

“Claude? Wake up,” he half whispered. Claude just groaned and buried his face deeper into the pillow. “Okay then, I’ll go have breakfast all by myself.”

“Noo, wait…” Claude tried to make his voice work but didn’t bother to open his eyes quite yet. He grabbed the sleeve of Danny’s bathrobe and mumbled something. It was hard to tell what because the words were muffled by the pillow but Danny concluded it was something like ‘I’m getting up’. 

“I can see that,” Danny said skeptically. Claude let go of the sleeve, rolled over and sat up on the bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked around like he was trying to determine where he is. What caught his attention eventually were the clothes, haphazardly scattered over the floor. When he remembered why exactly he was too busy to pick them up last night, his face melted into a lazy smile.

“Morning, Danny.”

“Morning, Claude.” Danny really hoped that the heat in his cheeks didn’t show. “As much as I like having you naked in bed, it’s time to get up. We should eat something before heading to the airport.” Danny got up from the bed and walked into the adjacent room in search of clean clothes.

“You think there’ll be grilled cheese?” Claude called after him. Priorities.

“If not, we’ll get some later,” Danny stuck his head in to doorway to assure him. Content to hear that, Claude got up and headed for the bathroom.

+

Danny was looking into the mirror, making last adjustments to his tie, when Claude came up to him, turned him around to face him and lifted his chin.

“Let me help you straighten that out.” But instead of straightening the tie out, he tugged on it sharply pulling Danny into a kiss. It wasn’t a desperate, impatient kiss but both of them knew there would be people around for the rest of the day so they tried to make the best of it while they could.

“Hmm. SO helpful. Thank you,” Danny managed to mix sarcasm with contentment.

“I am, aren’t I.” Claude straightened out Danny’s tie for real this time and gave him one last quick kiss before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.

“Ah, there you are, you two!” Lavi’s idea of hello.

“Morning, coach,” they said in unison.

“Got a good night sleep?”

“...Yeah, good,” Danny answered with a sheepish smile and before he could stop himself, he glanced at Claude. Lavi was many things but stupid wasn’t one of them.

“Huh. I don’t wanna know, do I,” he concluded not expecting an answer. They both froze for a second but then slowly shook their heads to which Lavi just nodded. “Right... Well, gentlemen, enjoy your day, see you at the draft and don’t be late.”

“Yes, coach,” Claude managed to say, still a bit shocked. They watched Lavi walk away down the hallway and tried to process what just happened.

“We should work on our poker faces, eh?”

“Yeah, we should,” Danny couldn’t help but sound a bit sad. This wasn’t gonna be easy but somewhere deep down, he felt like they actually had a chance at whatever this was. Was it just because he was head over heels in love right now? Maybe. But did it really matter? He looked at Claude and this time it was him who was saying _‘I’m in. Are you?’_. And Claude was so in.

+

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> CODA:
> 
> These two of my gif sets, I think, are a nice coda to this story.  
> bloody-mary-23.tumblr.com/post/95512931705/danny-briere-at-the-2011-nhl-asg-fantasy-draft-in  
> bloody-mary-23.tumblr.com/post/95532756705/guys-guys-i-forgot-about-this-one-didnt-i-as  
> (I'll have you know that unlike this story, the gif sets are 100% canon.)


End file.
